


hope lies in the stars

by bodhirooks



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Baze is sweet, Bodhi fixes K2, Bodhi is cute, Cassian is frustrated, Fix-It, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 09:20:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9173257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bodhirooks/pseuds/bodhirooks
Summary: They've made it out alive. Everyone but K2, that is. When all seems well for Cassian except the loss of his friend, Bodhi has to do something to fix the one thing out of place.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was fun to write :)

_“Bodhi! Bodhi where are you?!”_

Nothing but ringing in his ears.

_“Bodhi! Bodhi, are you alright?”_

A groan, strangled from his own parched lips. He didn’t realize it, not until his lolling neck lost contact with the ground and it happened again. Splitting pain raced to his head. A white sheet covered his vision. Only once it faded could he feel himself being carried, cradled in warm, strong arms. Cassian’s arms. He didn’t mind so much, he thought. At least he didn’t think so. His tired eyes could only see a blur of blue, fur-lined fleece. But he didn’t have time to see much longer - to think. He faded. Black.

_“Bodhi. Bodhi, you’re okay…”_

Whimpering ever-so-slightly, Bodhi forced his eyes open. Crusted lashes were sticking together, and once he peeled them apart bright lights singed his corneas, but he managed to squint the discomfort away, to focus on the silhouette in front of him. He knew that shape, that voice…

“Cassian…?”

“Yeah.” Dark brown eyes twinkled fondly at him. Calloused hands parted locks of his hair. “It’s alright.”

Bodhi sighed in relief. Any lingering anxiety melted, replaced by tingling in his cheeks and butterflies in his stomach. Cassian was here. Looking out for him, just as he’d done since the moment they met. Vision finally clearing, Bodhi looked at Cassian like he was seeing the man for the first time, with fresh eyes. Soft cheeks and chiseled jaw. Sharp nose and light brows. The man was… remarkable. Remarkably kind, and clever, and handsome, ever so… Bodhi would’ve shaken his head to clear this thoughts, but he wasn’t strong enough. “Could you… Could you help me up?” he whispered.

Cassian’s hand fell on his shoulders, the other at the base of his skull. “Of course.” Bodhi barely had time to blush before he was gently rested against a pillowed headboard and being handed a bowl of hot soup. With a shy ‘thank you’ he accepted, glancing around.

“Where are the others?”

“All fine,” Cassian assured, watching Bodhi eat. “Jyn’s off giving her report, and Chirrut and Baze are doing who-knows-what.”

Bodhi had to chuckle at that. “I’m glad to hear it.” Finishing his soup, Bodhi carefully set the wooden bowl and spoon on the nightstand next to his cot. They were in some sort of makeshift medbay, with white tarps hanging from stone walls and service droids buzzing about. Droids…

“Where’s Kay-Too?”

Cassian’s expression fell, his dark eyes brimming with tears. Bodhi’s throat went dry.

“He didn’t make it.”

The color drained from Bodhi’s face. K2… K2 had been their friend. Bodhi had felt a kinship with him - they were both reprogrammed imperials, in a way. But more than anything K2 had been Cassian’s friend. Maybe one of his closest. And Bodhi couldn’t stand to see the heartbreak in the captain’s eyes.

So. He decided to do something about it.

Bodhi’s discharge came more slowly than he would have liked - he had a concussion and a few nasty burns - but once he was cleared from medical he was a man on a mission. Night had fallen, and the junk rooms weren’t monitored or guarded. Just filled to the brim with spare bits of machinery, decommissioned X-wings, and any other scraps the Rebellion could find.

Broken droids, too.

Sneaking in was easy. Finding what he was looking for was not.

First, he rummaged through piles of Imperial rubbish, all intended for later use. Nothing there. He moved on to the spare parts - mostly old equipment.

That’s where he found him.

There wasn’t a whole lot left. In the dark Bodhi could make out singed wires, charred plates, two burned-out bulbs where eyes should be. It looked like a thousand blaster-bolts had grazed his metal hide.

K2.

His shell, at least.

Ignoring the tears threatening to spill, Bodhi grasped the deformed broken droid under each arm and pulled. It made a hideous shrieking sound, but barely moved an inch.

“Come on buddy…” he begged. “Come on, we can do this!”

Bodhi braced his feet hard against the floor, locking his skinny knees, hoping beyond hope his body-weight would be enough.

_Rebellions are built on hope._

“Well…” he puffed, arms starting to shake, “I rebel… against… the _laws of physics!”_

Now the tears fell freely. Every muscle in his body burned like an electric fire, his neck and back stung, but Bodhi wouldn’t give up. He had to do this for K2. For Cassian.

_“Come ON!”_

An inch gave way -two. No one heard their racket yet - a miracle, Bodhi figured, or the will of the Force - so he kept on going. Every step was a step, he told himself. Every step was a step.

Finally, after an age, Bodhi had the droid in the hangar bay, in front of the supply closet behind Rogue One.

Collapsing against the steel door, Bodhi set K aside and opened the closet. Waving his hand to clear any dust, he headed to the back, emptying the small workbench of all its toolboxes. He pushed any unneccessary supplies to the perimeter, coughing gently, and set the fuses in the center. Then he maneuvered the motionless K2 onto the bench and sat down beside him. “Right… That’s it for step one.”

If anyone noticed their hammers and wrenches disappearing over the next few days, well it was none of his concern.

 

* * *

 

Boots clicking lightly on the stone walkway, Jyn Erso strode confidently across from the rebel base. Yavin IV had been good to her so far - and the rest of Rogue One’s crew - so she didn’t mind attending yet another banquet in their honor. The sun beamed brightly into the courtyard, lending the scenery a warm glow. Jyn smiled. Across the large walk she spotted Chirrut and Baze, heading over to join them.

“Jyn! I am glad you showed up,” Chirrut grinned. He was leaning heavily against the wall, quarterstaff in hand. His vacant eyes wandered elsewhere, but Jyn nodded back all the same.

“Are Cassian and Bodhi here yet?”

“Don’t think so,” Baze shrugged, but he spoke too soon. In all of a moment Cassian flew around the corner, out of breath and clearly flustered.

“Sorry I’m late!” he huffed, slowing to a stop. Now they were all assembled just outside the banquet hall, save one. “Where’s Bodhi?”

“Not here yet,” Jyn informed, watching curiously as Cassian’s expression changed.

“Oh…” he murmured. “I just… haven’t seen him in a bit…”

Jyn was about to ask Cassian why that would make him so despondent - they were all friends, but Cassian had been depressed since they’d returned from Scariff - when a fanfare blasted through the green. All four winced, observing the doors to the banquet hall screech open.

Bodhi was standing within, waiting for them, motioning with a bemused but impatient hand.

“Come on!” he whisper-yelled. “They’re about to start!”

The ceremony passed uneventfully. Cassian caught Bodhi’s eye once or twice where he stood beside him, but the smaller man always glanced away. As dawn fell the festivities were quick to begin. Loud music blasted from nearby speakers and neon lights danced across linoleum walls. It all seemed rather fun, if Cassian wasn’t in such a sour mood.

Every day he’d visited Bodhi in the medbay. Every day. And Bodhi had seemed genuinely happy to see him. But now that the man was up and about, Cassian could tell Bodhi was avoiding him. If he came to visit Bodhi in the hangar bay, the pilot would make an excuse to leave. If Cassian sat next to him at mealtime he’d get up and go. It truly stung, and now he was here, at the banquet, watching Bodhi try to sneak out the door.

Well. He was having none of that tonight.

“Bodhi!”

Bodhi jumped, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He spun around to face Cassian, dim lights revealing a bashful smile. “H-Hi…”

Cassian frowned gently. “Where are you going?”

“Oh!” Bodhi seemed startled. “I- um-”

“Do you want to dance?”

Bodhi blinked owlishly. “W… What?”

Cassian smirked. “I said do you want to dance.”

It took a minute, but when Bodhi replied Cassian was happy for the answer. “Yes.”

Cassian smiled and offered his hand. Bodhi took it. Cassian smiled some more, and lead Bodhi to the open floor. Taking the lead, the captain laid his hands on the pilot’s waist. The pilot rested his on the captain’s shoulders. Cassian was still smiling. He never smiled this much. It was because they’d _won._

It was also because, maybe, Cassian liked Bodhi a bit too much.

Every day he came to visit him, because he knew Bodhi didn’t have anyone else to visit him. He was an imperial defector. But he’d nearly died for the rebellion.

And every day Cassian found that a little more amazing.

When Bodhi had first woken up, he’d looked at Cassian like he was the entire galaxy (had he known that?) Now Cassian had started looking at him like that too.

And here Bodhi was, blushing in his arms. Cassian was a happy man indeed.

Bodhi coughed. “I… um… I should go…”

Cassian’s stomach clenched. Bodhi’s hands slipped from his shoulders, but Cassian caught them, brought them back.

“Why?”

Something must have caught in Cassian’s throat, because Bodhi paused, let himself be drawn back in. They were chest to chest, noses nearly brushing. Cassian’s throat was dry - he was actually doing this, they were actually this close - and Bodhi’s cheeks were pink. Maybe the pilot wouldn’t leave.

“I just…” Bodhi shook his head. “I just have to go!”

He pulled away, more harshly than was necessary, and ran. Cassian’s heart sank to his shoes.

Jyn watched quietly all the while.

“Guys,” she tugged on Baze’s sleeve, who was preoccupied with Chirrut at the moment. She watched Cassian from across the banquet hall, looking like his world was ending, and glared at Bodhi as he headed out the door. “Come with me.”

 

* * *

 

Grumbling under his breath, Bodhi tweaked a wire, wiping grease and sweat off his brow. The bulk was back in one piece - K2’s bulbs were replaced, his circuits almost entirely recauterized - and Bodhi was even getting some flickering sentience out of him. The droid would jerk around for a minute, try to speak, and eventually collapse.

But it meant Bodhi was almost finished.

It meant he could spend time with Cassian again.

Avoiding Cassian hurt him more than any burns he’d received on Scarif. Seeing the man’s face fall every time he left made his head spin with guilt, but he couldn’t truly face him, not when there was something this important to do. He had to make things right for Cassian. Had to make him happy. So he’d leave the hangar, hoping Cassian would leave too, and he would get up during mealtime, because the man’s face reminded him his work wasn’t finished.

Because he felt like he owed this to him.

So, Bodhi kept working.

“Bodhi! Bodhi, are you in there?”

Bodhi froze. Jyn, through the door.

“No! I-I mean yes, but-” Bodhi tried to extricate himself from the tools around him, tripping and sprawling on the floor. “Shit!” he cried, “Just- just don’t come in!”

The small door nearly gave way with a loud banging knock. Bodhi winced. Probably Baze.

“Why don’t you let us in? It sounds like you’re having trouble with something,” Chirrut’s gentle voice suggested.

“No! N-No, I’m alright!” Bodhi scrambled off the floor and made his way to the door. He cracked it open, only his body fitting, trying to look casual and block the view. “I’m fine.”

Jyn raised an unconvinced eyebrow. She was flanked on other side by the other two, and none of them looked like they would leave. “You seem pretty out of breath.”

“I’m fine,” Bodhi insisted, not really addressing the accusation.

Of course, that was the moment K2 decided to come sputtering to life again. In a seizure of sparks and metal, no less.

“What is that?!” Alarmed, Baze pushed past Bodhi, rallying towards the sound. “A bomb?!”

“What- no! No- no no no!” Bodhi tugged at the large man’s arms but couldn’t keep him at bay. Jyn and Chirrut filed in as well. How could they all even fit in here?!

And then they all decided to crowd in the same spot, around K2.

“What is it?” Chirrut asked patiently.

“The droid!” Baze marveled, eyes wide. He looked at Bodhi, clearly confused.

Bodhi ducked his head, watching Jyn crouch in front of the K2 as the life sputtered out of him again. “You’ve been fixing him?” she asked quietly.

Bodhi gulped. “Y-Yes…”

Jyn stood slowly, demeanor cool and calculated. “This is why you’ve been sneaking around Cassian?”

Bodhi glanced away. “Y-Yes…”

“Why don’t you tell him?” Baze asked, surprisingly calm.

Bodhi shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I, uh… wanted it to be a surprise…” He bit his lip, embarrassed. It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was part of it.

The others were silent. Still, too, except for Chirrut’s knowing smile.

Jyn nodded. “I’m a bit in awe,” she confessed.

“Me too,” Baze admitted, stepping towards the pilot. Bodhi was tempted to take a step back, but held his ground. A large hand came to rest on his shoulder, then tilted up his chin. “I’m impressed. Does this really mean that much to you?”

Bodhi refused to stammer. In this he was confident. “Yes.”

Chirrut laughed joyously. “Then we’ll help you!”

And they did.

Over the next several days, Jyn brought Bodhi any other parts and equipment he needed - suturing irons, nuts and bolts, even fresh paint. Either Baze or Chirrut would stand guard while he worked, and all three would distract Cassian if necessary.

They should have known Cassian would suspect _something._

“Alright, what’s going on?”

Jyn looked up unassumingly, abandoning the blaster she was polishing. She sat on a box outside the supply closet, Chirrut and Baze beside her. “Nothing,” she shrugged.

“You expect me to believe that?” Cassian crossed his arms, expression morphing from indignation to anger in a heartbeat. “I want to know the truth. You’re all here in Bodhi’s hangar and yet there is no Bodhi?!”

“Perhaps,” Chirrut suggested, “We’d best grab a bite to eat and talk this through,” He stood, subtly trying to lead Cassian away.

Cassian scoffed. “I won’t fall for your tricks!” he cried. “Is _everyone_ trying to keep us apart?!” He shouldered past all of them despite a chorus of protest and pried open the door.

His jaw dropped at what he saw.

“Hold still, Kay!”

“It’s proving _difficult to do so_ with you tugging at my calibrator.”

“I’m just trying to get the last one!”

Cassian gawked. “What’s going on here?”

Bodhi was huddled over an undersized workbench, working on one oversized droid. The man jumped, stringy hair fanning like a halo as he tried to stand and turn at the same time. His goggles slid down over his forehead, and he nearly tripped. “Cassian! I was just-”

“Cassian!” K2 upstarted, standing on shaking metal legs. His head nearly brushed the ceiling, but he was upright nonetheless. “Bodhi told me you were alright. But he wouldn’t let me see you.”

“Because you aren’t completely fixed- ah!” Bodhi’s scolding broke into a cry as K2 teetered dangerously to one side, nearly knocking him over. Cassian lurched forward, and Baze and Jyn too, and they all helped settle the droid back into his seat.

Cassian was dizzy, and he sat heavily next to K2. “Kay…” he mumbled. “You’re really here?”

“Indeed,” K affirmed, seeming very pleased indeed.

“Yes,” Bodhi agreed, visibly irritated. His sharp eyes were fixed entirely on the droid. “Now hold still!”

K2 finally complied, and within moments the final adjustment was complete.

“Alright, that’s it for configurations,” Bodhi said. “You should be functioning normally now. But I still have to replace the exterior plating and I have some paint if you-.”

“Do it later,” K dismissed, standing without falling this time. He came as close to stretching as a droid likely could. Cassian stood as well, staring up at him.

K seemed puzzled. “Yes…?”

Cassian didn’t know what to say. He worked his jaw for a moment before giving up. In a mindless moment he wrapped his arms around the droid and squeezed.

K2 was very still, but Cassian could hear the others snickering lightly. Pulling back, he cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s, uh… good to see you.”

K was still for a moment longer. “Alright then.”

The droid was quick to walk away, and Cassian couldn’t blame him. He smiled at the others as they lead K2 outside, reacquainting themselves with their friend. Jyn smiled gently, and Cassian smiled back. Once they’d gone he turned back to Bodhi, who was just standing up.

Cassian moved closer, watching as Bodhi grinned, and hugged the man tight to his chest. “Thank you…” he breathed.

He could feel Bodhi smile against his neck. “You’re welcome, Cassian.”

Cassian dropped his arms to Bodhi’s back, looking at the pilot with a question in his eyes. They were standing just as close as they had been the other night, when they were dancing. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered.

“I, em…” Bodhi glanced away. “I didn’t want to get your hopes up if… if I failed…”

Cassian’s face went lax, heart standing still. For a long moment he simply swam in Bodhi’s eyes.  His fingers trailed upwards, like in a dream, resting on the pilot’s thin cheeks. He couldn’t contain his affection any longer. Leaning forward, he captured Bodhi’s lips in a sweet kiss. Bodhi seemed startled at first, but was quick to reciprocate, resting his hands on Cassian’s shoulders.

They were lip-locked for a long time before they came up for air. Smiling at each other, they stood, and swayed, like music was still playing.

“Thank you, Bodhi…”

“I love you!”

Cassian smiled. “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at imaginehux !


End file.
